Tuesday, November 28, 2017

I usually try new recipes, or techniques because they sound
delicious, or unusual, but once in a while I’ll try something just because it
sounds impossible, and that was the case with these flaxseed crackers.

I heard
that if you mix flaxseeds with an equal amount of water, let it hydrate, spread
it thin, and bake it in a low oven, you’ll get light, crispy, and surprisingly
tasty crackers. I heard right.

I generally like to leave eating seeds to the birds, but
these have a very mild nutty/earthy flavor, and while quite light, they’re
still study enough to use with your favorite dips and spreads. Above and beyond
the taste, I find that these start to lose their crispiness after about a day,
so if you make them ahead of time, I’d re-crisp them in the oven again for
maybe 30 minutes to dry them back out.

Also, please feel free to season these more creatively than
I did. Although a plain cracker is perfect for pairing with a slice of cheese,
I can’t help but think there are so many other ways these could’ve been
spiced-up. Regardless of what you add to yours, I really hope you give them a
try soon. Enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE: I've been told that whole flax seeds are not fully digestible, and to get the health benefits you should use flaxseed meal, but other sources are telling me that the soaking, and chewing takes care of that, maybe. Probably not a big deal unless you're going to eat a whole batch, but consider yourself warned if you are sensitive to high-fiber foods! Ingredients for 32 Flaxseed Crackers:

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

I originally planned for these sweet
potato biscuits to be this year’s Thanksgiving leftover recipe, but they came
out so well, I decided to upgrade them, and I’m now officially suggesting you
make these as one of the centerpieces for your feast. The downside of that plan
is that you’ll have to share them with your guests.

Adding things like mashed sweet
potatoes can cause all sorts of issues in a biscuit recipe, since they need to
take the place of some of your “wet” ingredients, and considering how much
thicker they are than something like buttermilk, over-mixing the dough can
occur. By the time the potato mixture is incorporated, you can develop too much
gluten, which can make biscuits tough.

So, to protect against that, we’ll do
most of the mixing while we form and fold our dough on the work surface. Not
only does this make for a tender biscuit, but as you saw, we also get lots of beautifully
buttery layers.

These are amazing with just plain
butter, but for a little seasonal twist, I made a pomegranate spread, and have explained
how to do that below. No matter what you serve this with, I really do hope you
give these amazing sweet potato biscuits a try soon Enjoy!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Some recipes have amusing, or romantic stories for how they
came to be, but this peposo isn’t one of them, unless you consider making bad
quality beef taste better by covering it in black pepper, amusing or romantic.

As the story goes, the workers who made terracotta tiles in
the city of Impruneta, would place this stew into clay pots, and leave it their
still-hot kilns overnight, where it would be ready the next morning. Since they
were often stuck using less than fresh meat, copious amounts of black
peppercorn was used to make the beef palatable.

Luckily, this recipe adapts quite nicely to fresh meat, and
produces one of the more uniquely flavored braised beef dishes I’ve ever had.
The amount of black pepper is up to you, but even the ridiculous amount I used
wasn’t overpowering. The acidity and sweetness of the reduced wine balances
everything beautifully.

I hear that beef shank is the traditional cut of meat to
use, but short ribs worked really well. You could even use some beef chuck, cut
into two-inch pieces, but you’d have to adjust the cooking time. Having said
that, forget the time, and keep cooking until a fork goes in easily. Regardless
of which cut you use, or how fresh it is, I really hope you give this a try
soon. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Caldo verde is many things: simple to make, inexpensive,
nutritious, famously delicious, and beyond comforting. What it isn’t, however,
is Spanish. I learned that after posting a version of this soup 10 years
ago, when I tagged it as “Spanish Cuisine,” and a few very “passionate”
Portuguese viewers let me know, in no uncertain terms, that was not accurate.

This soup hails from the Minho Province in northern
Portugal, and now that the record has been set straight, we can move on to just
how great this simple soup is. This is one of those recipes where you actually hope
for horrible weather, so you can enjoy it in all its soul-warming glory. This is so hearty
and comforting, you’ll almost forget how good it is for you.

I recommend trying to find Portuguese linguica, but like I said in the video, pretty much any cured, spicy, smoked
sausage will work. Andouille would be a great choice, as would a dried chorizo.
As usual, feel free to adapt this as you see fit, but I wouldn’t change the
recommended russet potatoes.

They have the perfect starchiness for
this soup, and produce a wonderfully silky texture. Waxier red potatoes won't work as well, but, having said that, it’s your soup, so do what you want.
Just don’t call it Spanish. So, whether you wait for some nasty cold, wet
weather or not, I really do hope you give this caldo verde a try soon. Enjoy!

Friday, November 10, 2017

You have to give it to the Italians when it comes to naming
recipes, and this pork saltimbocca is a perfect example. By now, you’ve probably
heard that “saltimbocca” means “jumps in the mouth,” which makes perfect sense
if you’ve had it before.

Maybe we should start doing this to American recipes? For
example, we could rename Buffalo Chicken Wings, “Order More Beer Bones.” Let me
think that one through a little more, but the point is, I love the idea of trying
to describe a food’s affect in its name.

If you don’t want to mess around making the fake pork stock with
the chopped up trimmings, you can still use the gelatin trick, and simply dissolve
a teaspoon into a cup of chicken broth, and reduce it by half. However, the browned
scraps do add extra meatiness, and this way you won’t have to feel guilty about
trimming off too much meat. By the way, if you’d made our demiglace, you could
skip the gelatin and add a nugget of that.

Feel free to use the more classic veal loin for this recipe,
but the pork tenderloin really works beautifully. It’s just as tender, and
maybe even a bit more forgiving if slightly overcooked. Which reminds me, don’t
overcook this. Slightly pink pork tenderloin is completely safe, not to mention
juicy and delicious. So, whether you use pork, veal, or even a chicken breast
for this, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

I was halfway through production on this “code red” cheese
spread, when I heard that Andrew from “Binging with Babish” had tagged me for
his Hot Pepper Challenge for ALS. What are the odds? Anyway, I happily accepted his challenge, although, as you’ll
see from this video, I took the coward’s way out, and used the almost already
completed pepper spread, instead of eating whole chilies. I have some gastrointestinal
issues that, while relatively minor, would make such an endeavor “problematic.”
So, to make up for my good judgment, I donated a little extra, and hope you can
do the same.

Above and beyond raising some funds for ALS research, this delicious spread is simple to make, and a real crowd-pleaser. Just ignore those initial
complaints. As you’ll observe, people will literally be
spreading more of this on their next cracker, while they tell you that it's too spicy. It isn't, and by the end of the party, they will agree. They
may be sweating when they do, but they'll agree.

Here’s the link to Andrew’s video, where he shares the
inspiration for the challenge, as well as heroically eats a habanero, AND a
ghost pepper. It hurt just to watch. If you'd like to participate, the link
is https://www.gofundme.com/alshotpepperchallenge.
I really hope you give this great pepper spread, and hot pepper challenge a try
soon. Enjoy!

Friday, November 3, 2017

Armed with nothing more than a sharp boning knife, and some
patience, pretty much anyone can make this visually impressive, “chicken
little.” At least that’s what I’m calling it, for lack of a better name. In the
business, this is sometimes referred to as an individual chicken ballotine,
which really doesn’t have much of a ring to it.

I was thinking of going with “pear chicken,” but then I’d
have to deal with all those “where’s the pear?” comments. Anyway, regardless of
the name, this is a real showstopper, and easily adaptable when it comes to
seasonings, and glazes. I did the simplest pan sauce possible, by deglazing the
drippings with a splash of chicken stock, but you could use wine, and/or
demiglace, to fancy it up even more.

I’m recommending that we cook this to an internal temp of
150 F., to ensure ultra-juicy meat, which will terrify some of you, “Henny
Penny’s”. I still see recommendations online to roast chicken to 165 F., which
is not only crazy, but completely unnecessary. Anything that would harm you is
killed at 140 F., so please try to relax.

Since there is a bit of production involved, I do suggest
making these ahead, and keeping them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Not only will they roast to an even more beautiful golden brown, but your
flavored butter ingredients inside will have time to permeate the meat. So,
whether you’re making these to impress guests at a dinner party, or just improve your knife skills, or both, I really hope you give them a try soon.
Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

one 1.5 pound game hen (this will work with any size bird,
but roasting times will change)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the butter:

1 clove garlic, sliced

large pinch of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon minced thyme and rosemary

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup seasoned chicken broth to deglaze and reduce in
roasting pan

- Roast at 450 F. for about 30 minutes, or until internal
temp of 150 F.